Neighbors Digest

Pacific Intercultural Exchange is looking for 40 caring Alaska families to host high-school students from various countries for the 2004-05 school year. The students are 15 to 18 years of age and will begin arriving in August to spend the upcoming school year with a caring family while attending your local high school. Please help PIE make the dreams of these young teens come true, with the opportunity to live and study in our country, and possibly aid in making a difference in their future. For more information, call 1-800-894-7633.

Program for getting children fully immunized

The Vaccinate Juneau's Kids Coalition would like to inform the community of a campaign that is currently going on statewide to encourage parents of children ages 0-2 years to get their children fully immunized and up-to-date on their shots. It's the "I Did It By TWO" Childhood Immunization Campaign, and it promotes health in children through various efforts.

By incorporating the original "Race to Vaccinate" (aka the Iditarod), which was a run to bring the diphtheria serum to help sick people in Nome, the "I Did It By TWO" campaign supplies each musher in the race with dog jackets to keep their dogs warm and helps spread the word about immunizations along the way.

To distribute information around the state, they are providing doctors' offices and public health clinics with cuddly stuffed husky dogs to be raffled off later in the month. Each dog is special, because it is signed by four-time Iditarod winner Martin Buser!

By the age of two, your child should have received four DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), three IPV (polio), one MMR (measles, mumps rubella, three PedvaxHIB (meningitis) and three Hepatitis B vaccinations. Also, your child might have received one Caricella (chickenpox) and two to four Prevnar (Pneumococcal), both of which are optional but highly recommended.

So if your children are getting their shots and staying healthy, be sure to get them into the race and enter them in the drawing for a chance to win a one-in-a-lifetime stuffed animal through this lifesaving campaign. For further information or if you have questions, contact your local health care provider or vaccine coalition member.

Art 'n' Garden Fair

The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council (JAHC) is calling on Southeast Alaska's arts community to take advantage of a new marketing opportunity, the First Annual Art 'n' Garden Fair, which will take place June 13 at the new Marine Park Plaza on Juneau's waterfront. The fair will feature unique handcrafted art and accessories for gardens. Artists and craftspeople are encouraged to start creating what's known as "landscape art" - statues, birdhouses, birdbaths, willow furniture, trellises, whirligigs, chainsaw animals, etc. Rain or shine, the plaza will blossom with plants, displays on landscaping and lectures by experts. The deadline for booth space applications is April 1. For more information and booth space applications, visit www.juneauartscouncil.org or contact Barbara Belknap at 209-8602 or artngarden@gci.net.

Holland America grants

Applications are now being accepted by the Holland America Line Inc. Community Advisory Board for grants to local service and nonprofit groups in Juneau. CAB is comprised of Juneau civic and business leaders who advise Holland America Line on local corporate contributions and community involvement projects.

Juneau CAB will be making decisions about grant applications at its meeting on April 28. Applications are due in Anchorage no later than April 8. Applications can be picked up at the Westmark Baranof and should be mailed to Kathy Newman, Holland America Line, 745 W. 4th Avenue 304, Anchorage AK, 99501.

For more information on the Holland America Line community relations program, contact Kathy at (907) 264-2128.

Girl Scout cookie time

What a sweet way to celebrate our 92nd birthday than with 92,000 boxes of delicious Girl Scout Cookies sold in Southeast Alaska! Join in the celebration by supporting our local Girl Scout program through the purchase of our cookies. Please look for Girl Scouts selling cookies at different locations throughout Juneau starting March 6.

Juneau History Grant applications available

The 2004-2005 Juneau History Grant Applications are now available at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Students, teachers, organizations and individuals of all ages are encouraged to apply for up to $1,000 to assist them in the completion of a project which will document, preserve or improve access to the history of the greater Juneau area. The Juneau History Grant Committee looks for projects that demonstrate historical value to the greater Juneau community and produce a tangible product that can be shared with the community at large.

The Juneau History Grant was formed with funding by an endowment from the Juneau Centennial Committee. Since 1991, the History Grant Committee has awarded 21 grants and nearly $15,000 to individuals and school groups to assist them in the completion of Juneau history projects.

More information on the history grant or applications is available at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum at 4th and Main streets, by phoning 586-3572 or visiting the City museum's Web site at http://www.juneau.org/parksrec/museum/. Applications are due at the City Museum by May 15 at 4 p.m. Funded projects are to be completed by May 1, 2005.